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About this project

Sword 'N' board is a puzzle oriented adventure RPG that is 29 years in the making! In Sword 'N' Board you play as Sidd, a kid with an active imagination! You will battle your way through imaginary enemies, cardboard forests, dark pillow fort dungeons and solve challenging puzzles in order to find the pieces of your lost video game console!

When trying to come up with a story for Sword 'N' Board I remembered something from my childhood; what it was like to pretend and have to use my imagination to have fun. Something that I feel is a bit lacking now.

Growing up I really didn't have a lot, and I would use the old boxes my dad would bring home from work to make myself cardboard swords and shields and I would go on my own imaginary adventure for magic items in my backyard!

This is something I really hope to bring across in the theme... along with a little adult humor!

With being largely a 1 person team, there are definitely things that I can't do by myself, or wouldn't be as good as they would if I were to hire a professional. Whether that be for more complicated animations, particle effects, high definition audio or cinematics.

The idea behind Sword 'N' Board:

A lot of more modern adventure games have really taken to being super tutorial driven, and showing the player exactly everything that needs to be done. Most modern adventure games no longer reward exploration, or trying things for yourself, which is definitley something I miss when playing more modern games.

Growing up in the early 80's I remember what it was like to find that secret room you otherwise would have had no idea was there, unless you had moved a rock on accident, or solved that puzzle in that far off corner of the map, it felt good! Rewards felt rewarding because you had to work hard to find them, and they weren't given to you at a steady pace because "people like rewards!". You really had to try and find them, and when you did it felt great, and felt like an accomplishment. Any more, it seems as if things aren't explained to the player in explicit detail, then something must be "wrong" and i don't feel this way at all, it's as though some game designers think their players are idiots, and the game treats them as such, and I don't want to treat anyone like that at all.

Promotion of the game, such as getting to show at Pax Prime (Since I'm a Seattle resident its easy to get to!) as part of the Indie Megabooth, and Pax East + Travel

Take the game to GDC + Travel

Acquire PS3 or possibly even PS4 Dev kits and expertise to export to Sony Consoles.

Adding Multiplayer to the game!

Should we reach our goal, I'm sure some stretch goals and rewards will be decided, so lets hope we get that far!

NEW Stretch Goals:

$8,500: A secondary Inventory/Crafting system will be added to the gameThroughout the game there will be reagents that you can collect through various activities. Either from finding secret chests, chopping down trees, blowing up certain rocks and things like that which you can collect, or then sell back to shops! Not only that, you can collect and story any unused Health items to then use them later on when it's better suited!The reagents will then be able to be combined and used at a special shop to then upgrade your gear such as your cardboard sword, your Cardboard shield, or add special damage increases to some of your favorite items!

$10,000: Multiplayer will be added to the game, along with character variations!Are you a girl that doesn't want to play as a boy, or a boy who wants to play as a girl? Well that's totally fine, because I'll be adding the ability to customize the look of your character before you set off on your adventure!Not only that, but you will be able to play cooperatively with a friend to help battle monsters, and solve puzzles together!

We are now 101% Funded!

It's been an absolutely insane ride through this Kickstarter adventure with all of you! I wouldn't have been able to do it without some incredibly generous backers who put their own hard earned money into the project! there was definitely some moments there where things lagged a bit but with everyone's determination and faith we were finally able to get it done! A huge thanks goes out to Serena, Stew, BigD, Riggo, Speedster, The Lurker and everyone of the AGRM for taking time out of their own busy schedules to really get behind and help me promote the project! Without so many hands on the project helping out I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to get the project out to as many people as I did!

Articles about Sword 'N' Board:

Risks and challenges

As with any game production project there's always challenges. Contract work that might go unfinished by contractors you just never hear from again, an asset or animation taking a bit longer than was estimated, and Sword 'N' Board isn't any exception to this in any way (I wish it was!)
The largest issue I can foresee currently after the game is finished is Distribution, but for Kickstarter backers I will be handling that myself for the most part as I would like to make sure all backers receive a complete DRM free copy of the game (ARRRRR MATEY!!!) as I know its not uncommon for certain platforms to add their own internal DRM to games they distribute.
Because the game is largely being designed by myself aside from Audio, while the task itself is very large, it's not impossible. It also helps make sure that everything but audio gets finished accordingly and on time! So the only real thing thats not in my hands in terms of the games design is going to be Audio. Luckily, Sword 'N' Board will be receiving help in that department from HouseOGames.com which is a unique Incubation program for Indie Game Developers, and they've offered to allow us to use their Audio guy to bring the sounds and music of Sword 'N' Board to life! You can find some examples of his work here: http://dvgmusic.bandcamp.com/

FAQ

Well, codes for the Wii U version would have to be purchased through Nintendo at a specific rate, and then given to those people that want a Wii U version. Because of this, any backers above the 15 dollar mark would be given the option of getting the Wii U version instead of the PC version, this way we can make sure to not only get them a Wii U code for the game, but also still have money left over to put into animations and audio.

Short answer: Pledge 15 dollars minimum, and you'll have the option to get the Wii U version instead. However, if you opt for the Wii U version, that's the only version you will receive, so that's something to consider.

Currently the immediate platforms that will be available are PC, Mac, Linux, Android Tablet and iOS Tablet. A build specific to Android phone and iOS phone will be available later on, as the UI will have to be redesigned to function properly on smaller devices.

This is something I had been debating at first, as to be honest moving in 8 directions was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be at first. However, since this seems to be something a lot of people want, it will definitely be in the game when it's release so you'll be able to move however you want!

While it's hard to communicate this in the demo at this point, the game is going to be VERY puzzle oriented when it comes to the dungeons, and the puzzle complexity really comes from the different item combinations you'll encounter through the game.

Each of your 10 items, will be able to be used in 5 different ways (it's own single purpose, and then 4 different ways depending on what item you equip with it. Resulting in 50 different item combinations!). Unlike other Adventure games, you can absolutely swap out your main attack weapon, and equip something else if you prefer another item over your cardboard sword! And, in order to defeat some enemies, you'll have to!

For instance, if you equip your Snow Globe, it will simply give you a bubble that then protects you from damage until the shield breaks. However, if you equip the Snow Globe with your Axe at the same time, it will then create a shield of 3 spinning axes that spin around you and follow you around the screen! This will interact with puzzles differently than if the axe was used on it's own and you can also use it to defeat enemies!

In a lot of Adventure games, there's items that you don't use a lot, or that get used later on with no real new mechanics to speak of. This makes the item itself less interesting because you know exactly what you need to do with it. You simply open your menu, equip it, use it and move along. I wanted to avoid this.

So each of your items will have their own purpose, and gain new abilities as you find new items that are able to be used with it! Also, because you can decide which item to put on either O or P, you can slightly adjust how you play the game, to what feels better for you!

Rewards

Pledge $2 or more

Your name in the credits! You will receive my deep appreciation, as well as your name in a "special thanks" section within the credits of the game.

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

You selected

Pledge $5 or more

25 backers
All gone!

Get a copy of the game! You will receive your name in the "special thanks" section of the credits, as well as a DRM free copy of Sword 'N' Board!

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

You selected

Pledge $10 or more

60 backers

Get the game and your name in the credits! This is for anyone that wasn't able to get in on the early bird tier for the project and get the game at the discounted rate. You will receive a DRM free copy of Sword 'N' Board and your name in the "special thanks" section of the credits!

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

You selected

Pledge $15 or more

34 backers

You get everything above including the soundtrack for the game, which won't be released for a while after the game is released!

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

You selected

Pledge $25 or more

18 backers

Early Beta access and a digital poster! You will receive everything above as well as exclusive early Beta access to the game and a high res digital poster emailed to you!

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

You selected

Pledge $30 or more

16 backers
Limited (9 left of 25)

Create your own enviornmental asset! You receive everything previously, but also will be able to create your own asset to be used in the game! Whether that be a cardboard asset, Dungeon asset or Overworld asset, that's entirely up to you! While I will retain creative control over the asset, you will work with me directly until we are able to come up with something we're both excited about and put it in the game!

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

You selected

Pledge $50 or more

6 backers

Behind the scenes development videos of Sword 'N' Board! You will receive everything above as well as an hour long look at the making of the game with me! It will show a number of different struggles over the next few months as I make the game!

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

You selected

Pledge $75 or more

1 backer

The comic lover's package! You will receive everything above, as well as an 8 page Sword 'N' Board digital comic to better expand upon the story of Sidd and his adventure.

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

You selected

Pledge $100 or more

1 backer

Get a
Sword 'N' Board shirt and an original sketch from me! You will receive everything above as well as a Skype call with me, and I will create a completely original cartoon character of your likeness.

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

You selected

Pledge $175 or more

2 backers
Limited (13 left of 15)

The Secret NPC package! You will receive everything above, but the cartoon likeness of yourself will then also be turned into a NPC of yourself (in cardboard cut out form) and given your own super secret chest room, for players to find! Not only that, but you will receive a Sword 'N' Board T Shirt, featuring the "paint and cardboard" logo!

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

You selected

Pledge $225 or more

0 backers
Limited (8 left of 8)

Receive everything previous, but also get to design your own small puzzle around your NPC's secret room! You will be able to work with me during your skype call, to figure out people will be able to find your room!

Pledge $300 or more

Help me design an enemy! You will receive everything above and also be able to help me design an enemy via Skype as well as be given a special "Enemy designer" credit in the game.

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

You selected

Pledge $500 or more

4 backers
Limited (1 left of 5)

You get to be a producer! You will receive everything above, as well as being able to add additional design input into Sword 'N' Board. Whether that be item mechanics, puzzles or art elements. While I will retain creative control, we will definitely work until we find something we both really enjoy! Not only that, I will give you a producer credit on the game as well!

Estimated delivery:Aug 2014

Funding period

Jul 29, 2013 - Sep 6, 2013
(38 days)

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